This invention relates to a livestock feed, the preparation of livestock feed, and the feeding of livestock to increase utilization of protein by ruminants.
It is known to treat feed for ruminants to reduce the premature degrading of the protein in the rumen. For example, protein in diets fed to cattle has been treated to decrease microbial degradation of the protein in the rumen. One specific method of treatment is described in Stern, Marshal D., September 1984, "Effect of Lignosulfonate on Rumen Microbial Degradation of Soybean Meal Protein in Continuous Culture", Can. J. Anim. Sci., 64 (Suppl.):27-28.
This publication describes the pelleting of soybean meal with lignosulfonate and its effect when incorporated in the feed of cattle. Moreover, in United States Pat. No. 4,377,576 issued to Howard J. Larsen, on Mar. 22, 1983, a method of feeding dairy cows with sulfite liquor is described.
Other prior art methods of treating proteins to reduce the premature microbial degradation of proteins have included treatment with formaldehyde or treatment by increasing the temperature to cause browning or cross-linking of the protein. It is also known to supplement high protein feeds with carbohydrates including sugars.
The prior art methods of altering the protein in feeds may be economical under some circumstances but it is important to achieve the maximum cost saving and the best utilization of protein such as by increasing the efficiency with which protein is used by the animal. The prior art feeds and methods fall short of these goals by, in some cases, providing protein which has reduced nutritional value in an effort to increase the amount of protein actually transferred from the rumen to the small intestine of ruminants or have other disadvantages.
For example, in the prior art use of lignosulfonate with feed, the reactions described would not cause a person reading then to prepare an effective feed because they do not provide information from which one would understand or know (1) the process requires reducing sugars; (2) the reaction must not continue to a stage where the resulting product is not utilized effectively in the small intestine of a ruminant; and/or (3) the reaction conditions such as pH, temperature and time necessary to form an effective feed.